Sainz: “Today was a day to save him”

MADRID, Jan. 13 (SportsFinding) –

The Spanish rider Carlos Sainz (Mini) has recognized that his goal was to “save the day” on the eighth day of the Dakar Rally, where he has protected the leadership despite the fact that his rivals have cut him an advantage in the general classification.

“Today was a day to save him. We knew we could lose six minutes with Stéphane (Peterhansel) and three with Nasser (Al-Attiyah). In the end it was a little more,” Sainz explained on the finish line at Wadi Al Dawasir .

“Tomorrow we go back, I hope to attack and see if we can recover a little time. We will have to go every day,” added the Madrid, who was not surprised by the good performance of his compatriot Fernando Alonso.

“His second position today is more anecdotal than anything else, the important thing is the pace he is carrying and how well he is doing. Personally I was not surprised because he is a great driver and adapts very well to any circumstance,” he said. .